February 24, 2012

Sponsored by the Benjamin and Anna E. Wiesman Family Endowment Fund AN AGENCY OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF OMAHA February 24, 2012 1 Adar 5772 Vol. 92 | No. 23

Project Harmony honors Sally Kaplan

This Week

by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMPWRIGHT Editor of the Jewish Press Although Sally Kaplan wasn’t born here, she considers Omaha her true home. And she’s made it quite a home: since she moved here in 1974, she has been involved with many organizations, such as the Planned Parenthood board, the Child Abuse Coalition, the Junior League, and the Child Saving Institute Board. In addition, she is the current president-elect of the Temple Israel board. She has been working in the field of child welfare since 1979. On March 7, Project Harmony will honor Sally for her service to the community with the Kids First Award. She works both as a Forensic Interviewer for Project Harmony, and as a therapist for Jewish Family Service. JFS Director Karen Gustafson cannot say enough nice things about her: “We couldn’t be more proud that Sally is being honored for her commitment and distinguished service to the children of our community,” she says. “Many people might not know how influential Sally has been to Jewish Family Service. She has made a difference in ways that were not always planned. She was the first supervisor of previous JFS Executive Director Steve Stiel, current JFS

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Sally Kaplan therapist Teresa Drelicharz, and myself. We all began our experiential training in therapy at the Child Saving Institute. Since that time, Sally has served on our board until 2003, after which she became a therapist for JFS. She is a valued colleague, but most of all, she is someone that we can truly call our men-

Matte Asher School for the Performing Arts by DIANE MALASHOCK Center for Jewish Education Omaha will have a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the talents of the graduate students from the

Israeli economic concerns mount Page 16

phers on Sunday March 11 at 7:30 p.m. in the JCC Theater. The performance is open to the public, free of charge, presented by the Center for Jewish Education and the Jewish

tor and our friend.” Sally and husband Gary have three daughters and two grandchildren. Elizabeth Kaplan and Carrie Gobel live in Omaha; daughter Katie Cohen lives in Oak Park, IL., with her husband and two children, Haley (4) and Jacob (3). Sally completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in St. Paul and her Bachelor of Science in elementary education at UNL in 1975. “During the process of adopting our middle daughter Katie at Child Saving Institute,” she says, “I became interested in the area of adoption and pregnancy counseling, and was hired by CSI as an adoption/pregnancy counselor.” She eventually went to graduate school and received a Masters in Social Work degree from UNO in 1988. After that she coordinated a sexual abuse treatment program for four years, and then returned to CSI as a therapist, and eventually

Director of Clinical Services. “I work in the field of child welfare because I have to; knowing that children are being abused and neglected in our community, and not trying to do something about it, is just unthinkable to me,” she says. “I see my own children in every child who is abused. I want every child to be loved and treasured as I love my own children; that is why I do the work and why my profession has added so much meaning to my life. I appreciate the recognition from Project Harmony, but the work itself is the best reward!” The event at which Sally will be honored is titled “Speaking of Children,” and features Olympic gold medalist boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, as well as several training sessions. Sally will receive her award during the luncheon, which is scheduled from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. “Project Harmony is a child advocacy center,” Sally says, “which includes law enforcement, Child Protective Services, and an on-site medical staff as well as Forensic Interviewers, like me. We aid law enforcement agencies in Iowa and Nebraska in the investigation of child abuse by providing medical exams, advocacy services and forensic interviews to children who Continued on page 2

RBJH and UNMC create a heart-to-heart by OZZIE NOGG The word ‘heartfelt’ became tangible at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home recently as residents cut and sewed small red felt hearts for each of the medical students taking an elective program at the University

“With help from the activity staff, residents turned out fifty hearts, each a little different to represent each student’s uniqueness. The first couple years of med school can be a struggle for students, and we hope the hearts will help them focus on

Inside Point of view Synagogues In memoriam

12 14 15

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Kibbutz Gaaton Contemporary Dance Company Matte Asher School for the Performing Arts during a performance of a variety of dance pieces created by young Israeli choreogra-

Federation of Omaha through Partnership 2Gether. Associated with the internationally known Kibbutz Gaaton Contemporary Dance Company, this performance will give a special perspective of dance in Israel today. The Matte Asher School for the Performing Arts, located in Kibbutz Gaaton in the Western Galilee, and was established by Yehudith Arnon, a Holocaust survivor. The program trains students intensively for two years in various areas - ballet technique, modern dance Continued on page 2

Back row: First-year UNMC medical students Krishna Sarma, left, and Karolyn Fox with Dr. Ruti Margalit, right; Front row: Sitting next to Rabbi Kripke, right, is his friend and companion Ruth Altstadt, left. of Nebraska Medical Center called The Healer’s Art. “Dr. Ruti Margalit of UNMC came up with the idea, to partner with the Blumkin Home to make the felt hearts,” said Maggie Conti, RBJH Director of Activities and Outreach Programs.

their goal.” Conti explained that the hearts can be tucked inside students’ lab coat pockets “to always remind them of their mission to heal with compassion.” The Healer’s Art is a medical school curriculum designed in Continued on page 2

2 | The Jewish Press | February 24, 2012

Project Harmony honors Sally Kaplan Continued from page 1 have been physically and sexually abused.” Executive Director of Project Harmony Gene Klein says: “Sally has given her life to helping others, especially the most vulnerable. We are so grateful for her contributions, and welcome the opportunity to recognize her hard work. She is such a wonderful person, she consistently gives of herself and makes sure the community is taken care of.” Sally says we can all do our part: “The most important thing people can do to make children safer is to report any suspected child abuse to law enforcement or Child Protective Services. Child abuse, particularly child sexual abuse, happens because adults fail to intervene. In Nebraska,

every adult is a ‘mandatory reporter’ of child abuse. Reports are confidential, and you do not need proof of abuse to make a report. The other thing everyone can do is support agencies who offer help to families in crisis, like Project Harmony and Jewish Family Service.” One way to show that support is to attend the Speaking of Children event on March 7, from 8:45 a.m.-3:30 p.m., at the CenturyLink Center. Cost is $50 for lunch only, or $75 for lunch and training. For more information and to make reservations, please visit www.projectharmony.com, call Kathy Baer at 402.680.3493 or email speakingofchildren@ gmail.com

RBJH and UNMC create a heart-to-heart Continued from page 1 1991 by Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D., author of the New York Times bestseller Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories That Heal, and My Grandfather’s Blessings: Stories of Strength, Refuge and Belonging. Remen is a pioneer in the mind/body holistic health movement and the first to recognize the role of the spirit in health and recovery from illness. Currently available at more than sixty medical schools world-wide, this is the first time the elective course has been offered at UNMC. Thirty-four students and ten faculty members are participating. “The Healer’s Art is a highly innovative elective course that enables service-oriented medical students to preserve their sense of meaning and calling and bring their full humanity to their work,” Dr. Margalit explained. The curriculum utilizes contemplative studies, as well as creative arts and storytelling, to explore human dimensions of medicine rarely discussed in medical training. “In short,” Margalit said, “this course reminds students to hold their hearts tenderly so they can hold someone else’s. That who you are is just as important as what you know.” The red felt heart gifts were given to Dr. Margalit and two of her first-year medical students, Krishna Sarma and

Karolyn Fox, at a Feb. 3 tea at the RBJH. “When we arrived at the Blumkin Home, the residents were seated and Maggie gave us the soft hearts in a special ceremony. In this context, it was as if the residents were saying, ‘We are old and need your heart when you take care of us. We appreciate how much you invest in your studies and hope these hearts can remind you to bring your wholeness into the practice.’ A few residents shared their own medical experiences, highlighting instances when a physician’s kindness played a significant part in their care. Those stories were very meaningful.” Rabbi Myer S. Kripke also took part in the presentation. “Rabbi Kripke had recently celebrated his 98th birthday,” Margalit said. “He spoke to us about our lineage as doctors and asked us to consider the human being as a whole being – with physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs. And then he bestowed the ancient Hebrew priestly blessing upon us.” Margalit and the students later delivered the felt hearts to her Healing Arts class and shared the experience. “The students were moved by the gift they received, and by Rabbi Kripke’s blessing. We are all grateful to the Blumkin Home for their partnership and support of this project.”

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Matte Asher School for the Performing Arts Continued from page 1 technique, repertoire, composition, theater and classes on the history of dance and music and more. During their studies the students are exposed to the public both in the studio performances and on stage. Patty Nogg and Stacie Brodkey are co-chairs for Omaha’s Partnership 2Gether Committee. “Omaha was introduced to the amazing talents of the Gaaton Dance Group in 2008” commented Nogg. “When Stacie and I learned that we had the opportunity to bring another talented group from Gaaton this year, we were thrilled.” “The arts world in Israel is filled with so much energy and excitement,” added Brodkey. “Having that high level of energy here in our theater will be a pleasure for the entire community.” Kim Goldberg, Chair of the Partnership 2Gether Arts Task Force, echoes those comments. “Whenever I have the chance to work with artists from our Partnership area, I am amazed at the incredible talent that continues to unfold. The Gaaton program is highly acclaimed and the dancers we will see next month will be performing in national companies around the world in the future.” Dance workshops will also be offered at the JCC on Sunday, March 11. Workshops are available for adults, teens and pre-teens. Please contact Esther Katz, JCC Cultural Arts Director, to register for the workshops at ekatz@jccomaha.org or 402.334.6406. Partnership 2Gether is a program of the Jewish Agency and the Jewish Federations of North America, promoting people-to-people relationships. Omaha is part of the 14 community Central Area Consortium, partnering with the city of Akko and the Matte Asher region in the Western Galilee through cultural, social, medical, educational and economic programs. For more information please call 402.334.6445.

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February 24, 2012 | The Jewish Press | 3

Joan Micklin Silver’s classic Hester Street included in National Film Registry by LEO ADAM BIGA Long before Kathryn Bigelow struck a blow for women filmmakers by capturing the Best Director Oscar, Omaha native Joan Micklin Silver made her own Hollywood inroads as a feminist cinema pioneer. With her 1975 directorial debut Hester Street she joined a mere handful of women directors then. Just completing the film and

picture and made sure it got seen. “Certainly he’s the hero of my story,” she says. Much of the film was shot where the film is set on New York’s Lower East Side. The tight production schedule meant added pressure. “It was really scary” says Silver. “I remember one day when I went to shoot a scene and the location had not been secured

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getting it released was a major feat. The low budget, black-and-white independent told a period Jewish immigrant story partly in Yiddish with English subtitles. “With great effort we made the film,” says Silver. Her script adapted the Abraham Cahan novel Yekl: A Tale of the New York Ghetto. As one of three daughters of Russian Jewish immigrant parents (her older sister Renee still lives here), the story held deep reverberations for Silver. She says she gloried in her father’s tales “of what it was like in Russia and what it was like coming over and his first banana.” Her family owned Micklin Lumber Co. in Omaha. Hester Street allowed Silver to commemorate on screen the immigrant experience she sprang from and cared about. That the film became a sensation was a small miracle. “One thing I thought as I was making the movie, ‘Well, who knows if I’ll ever get to make another film,’ and I say that because things were pretty dire for women directors and I really wanted to make one that would count for my family. The immigrant experience was a very big part of my family’s experience.” Silver feels the film strikes a chord with viewers because “it tells an immigrant story in an interesting, believable and honest way.” Last November Hester Street’s impact was confirmed when the National Film Preservation Board included it among 25 new selections in the National Film Registry, a U.S. Library of Congress-curated archive of significant American movies. Its citation notes the film’s been “praised for its accuracy of detail and sensitivity to the challenges immigrants faced during their acculturation process.” The honor took Silver by surprise. “I was really pleased, I had no expectation, and I was delighted to be on the same list with a John Ford movie (The Iron Horse) and a Charlie Chaplain movie (The Kid). It’s pretty exciting,” the longtime Manhattan resident says. The recognition is doubly satisfying given the difficulty of getting the movie made and released. She recalls one Hollywood executive who rejected the project suggested she change the story to Italians. When no studio would finance the story of early 20th century Eastern Jewish immigrants, her husband Ray Silver, who worked in real estate, raised the $350,000 to do it. He also produced the

and it took two hours to secure it, so I was two hours behind, and the whole time I was directing the scene I was thinking, How do I make up the two hours? It isn’t what you should be thinking about when you’re directing a scene.” She’s forever grateful to her collaborators. “I had a chance to work with such good people. I had a wonderful cameraman and production designing team and costumer, and that makes all the difference in the world to somebody just starting out. And I had such a good cast (Steven Keats, Paul Freedman, Doris Roberts, Mel Howard, Dorrie Kavanaugh) and I’m still really close and friendly with Carol (Kane).” Silver first saw Kane in the Canadian drama Wedding in White and thought her perfect for Gitl, a naive new immigrant wifemother whose painful assimilation leads to her emancipation. As Silver assumed Kane lived across the border she despaired her meager budget could not afford putting her up for the shoot until learning the actress resided in NYC. The two felt a connection as Kane came from a Jewish immigrant family not unlike Silver’s and grew up in Cleveland, where Silver once lived. The filmmaker recalls Kane as “a very conscientious, serious, careful, lovely young woman” who went home to rehearse in the sheitel and period jewelry provided for the part. After all the hard work to finance the film, meticulous research to ensure authenticity and stress to complete the project on time, no studio wanted to distribute it. Silver was heartbroken. “I went through a bad period thinking, I’ve made this film nobody will distribute, what am I going to do? how are we going to pay the money back?” On the advice of maverick filmmaker John Cassavetes, the couple distributed it themselves through their own Midwest Films company. And then a remarkable thing happened. Ray entered the film in the Cannes Film Festival and it was accepted. More prestigious festival showings followed. As the film proved a critical and popular darling more theaters screened it. Hester Street became a surprise hit, earning $5 million at the box office and gaining enough industry notice for Kane to be Oscar-nominated, both unheard of accomplishments for an indie pic then. Continued on page 4

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Beth El offers spiritual way to begin or end the day by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator For decades, Beth El has had the distinction of offering two daily religious services, seven days a week. Held at 7 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., these 30-minute-long services provide attendees with a spiritual, reflective way to begin or end the day; they also allow community members to observe yarzheits, as well as the ability to say Kaddish for loved ones who have just died. Rick Emas, one of the synagogue’s regular ‘minyannaires,’ has attended morning services for the past 10 years, usually between three and six times a week. “I began coming to Beth El as my sons approached Bar Mitzvah age,� Emas said. “I wanted to be a good role model and give them an opportunity to experience the kind of ruach I feel when I am in shul. “I was able to bring them most mornings until they entered middle school and their schedule changed,� he added. “They were the only children to come to morning minyan on a regular basis, and I was pleased to see that both were able to conduct their Bar Mitzvah services without difficulty.� Attending on a regular basis has provided Emas with a strong sense of belonging and a special camaraderie that extends beyond the service itself. “After morning service during the week, we have a light breakfast of bagels and cream cheese, and quite often sit around and solve the world’s problems -- or so we like to think,� he joked. “I would highly recommend minyan to anyone who is considering getting more involved with synagogue life. We are a friendly, warm and somewhat eclectic group, which leads to some very interesting and enlightening conversations.� Some regular minyannaires have said they began going to services after the death of a loved one; then, following the mourning period, attending minyan became a part of their daily routine. Such was the case for Wendy Berenson, who began attending afternoon services after her father died, and has been a regular for the past four years. “It is a mitzvah to help others who need to say Kaddish, and have enough people there,� she said, adding that, “Michael (service leader Michael Gerson) does a great job of

letting everyone know where we are in the service so everyone can stay together.� Congregant Donald Goldstein began attending daily minyan following the death last March of his wife, Ann. “I found it a great addition to my new daily routine,� he said. “It was a good way to get my day started and it gave me a reason to get up and out in the morning. I enjoy the service and the camaraderie that has developed with the regular attendees. I attend almost every morning.� For Sandy Friedman, daily service attendance began during his stint as president of the synagogue’s Board of Trustees from 1992-’94. Being an early riser made it easy to go to the morning minyan, he said, noting that he attends three or four times a week. “This is a very important part of Jewish life and Beth El is the only synagogue in the city that facilitates twice-daily prayer for all who want to come and worship,� he said, adding, “Helping to make a minyan is a mitzvah. We have a great group of folks who attend on a regular basis. And, it isn’t a bad way to start and/or end your busy day.� Friedman and Goldstein have joined forces to spearhead a new initiative at the synagogue to assure that each daily service will have at least 10 people in attendance. Through a special computer database, not only will yarzheit notices be sent to family members, they will also be sent to friends and other loved ones who may wish to observe the anniversary at Beth El. Congregants are being asked to help compile the database, Friedman said. When they receive yarzheit notices in the mail, they are asked to send to Beth El the names and email addresses of five people who might want to join them to say Kaddish. In addition, yarzheits are also being listed prominently on the synagogue’s website, www.bethel-omaha.org. “Sandy and I are just trying to come up with a system to notify friends and family of those observing Yahrzeit,� Goldstein said. “It is our hope that this will encourage members to support others with their attendance.� Friedman added that, “If each person with a yarzheit has a few family and friends come, we will be assured of making a minyan. Beth El is a wonderful place, and with just a little effort by each of us, we can keep this wonderful tradition in place.�

Joan Micklin Silver Continued from page 3 Silver had the thrill of informing the actress she’d been nominated. The project established Silver’s reputation as a bankable director. Her subsequent theatrical films include Between the Lines and Chilly Scenes of Winter. Perhaps her crowning achievement was Crossing Delancey, when she revisited Lower East Side Jewish culture in a modern love story poised between Old and New World values. She later directed many made-for-television movies (Hunger Point). The Omaha Central High graduate left here in the early 1950s to pursue a love for writing, theater and film nurtured in her hometown. She recalls as a girl being mesmerized watching Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt. At Sarah Lawrence College she discovered art and world cinema. After college she settled in Cleveland, where plays she wrote were performed. In New York she wrote-directed educational films. Her dream of a Hollywood breakthrough was partly realized when her story about the wives of American POWs, Limbo, was optioned and she worked under veteran studio director Mark Robson (Champion) adapting it to the screen. “In the end I was replaced as the writer (sharing screenplay credit with James Bridges) on the film. Not knowing very much, I disagreed with the director in meetings and he said, ‘Thank you very much,’ and replaced me, which is the privilege of the director. “But he then invited me – because he knew what I really wanted to do was direct as well as write – to come to the shoot and stay as long as I wanted to avail myself of anything I wanted to learn about. Of course, I felt very upset I had been let go but I got past it and I said, ‘OK, I’m coming,’ and that was a tremendous learning experience for me.� Robson’s largess was rare in the misogynist, male-dominated movie field. Besides, Silver notes, “Who wants a dis-

gruntled screenwriter around? So that was very generous of him. He let me look through the camera, he let me review the film’s budget, he let me talk with any of the actors, and I did. It was marvelous. I gained a real understanding of how one sets up a budget for a feature film.� For Silver, who never formally studied filmmaking, it was her film school. Confident in her abilities, she vowed her work would never be compromised again. “I think almost everybody who gets along in film seems to have experiences like that because it’s a pretty tough field and you need guidance and you need friendship and generosity, and I was very lucky to have it myself.� In a sense Silver prepped all her life to make Hester Street. The stories she absorbed from her father previously led her to make The Immigrant Experience for the Learning Corporation of America. For her first feature she again fixed on subject matter close to her heart. “My father was ill during my teenage years and he was home a great deal, so I spent a lot of time with him. He was looking for somebody to talk to and believe me I was there and I was really happy to talk to him. I’ve always thought immigrants fall into two experiences: those who don’t want to talk about it at all and those who want to talk about it all the time, and that was my father – he loved reminiscing about it. As a very bright, questioning man, he was also interested in the world, politics, current events and books. I was so lucky to have talk after talk with such a wonderful father at a time when it was unusual for fathers to talk to their daughters.� Her father died before she became a filmmaker, but her mother lived to revel in her Hester Street triumph. “One of the first things she did when Hester Street came out was make the cover of what would be a scrapbook. Yeah, she loved it and she was thrilled for my success.� Silver’s interest in immigrant tales continues with her inprogress documentary The Bagel: An Immigrant’s Story. She hopes to develop a film adaptation of the novel Good to a Fault. Meanwhile, her new friendship with Alexander Payne may result in a Film Streams program that brings her back to where her cinema stirrings began.

February 24, 2012 | The Jewish Press | 5

Temple Israel invites State Senator to discuss Food Stamp experience by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Senator Heath Mello, who represents the fifth legislative district covering South Omaha and parts of Bellevue in the Nebraska Unicameral, will talk about the 2012 Nebraska legislative session at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 26, at Temple Israel. His visit to Temple Israel is sponsored by the Social Justice Committee and Men of Reform Ju d a i s m . S p e c i f i c a l l y, Senator Mello will address human services such as hunger, Senator Heath Mello housing, and children’s welfare issues. Elected in 2008, the senator serves on the Appropriations and the Nebraska Retirement Committees, and the Homeland Security Policy Group. Prior to his election, Senator Mello was a senior aide to U.S. Senator Ben Nelson. A graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Mello is the coordinator of community affairs and outreach at Metropolitan Community College. Senator Mello issued a challenge last March to senators and staffers in the Nebraska legislature to learn first hand about living on food stamps, according to a story in the Lincoln Journal Star. During debate on a food stamp bill earlier in the session, he said there seemed to be some misconceptions – in his view – among some senators about how the supplemental food stamp program worked. And who could qualify to get them.

So he asked senators to join him for a week in eating on the average weekly benefit received by a person in what is now called SNAP –- the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. During Senator Mello’s food stamp-like week of eating, he picked foods that were easy to prepare for his busy life of two jobs and lots of meetings, he said. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, milk, Frosted Mini Wheats and coffee made up his diet for the week. It taught him more about the food stamp program, the difficulty in getting access to healthy foods, and the challenges people have who must supplement their diets with the program. “There are food items I question whether

they should be allowed to qualify (for the program),” he remarked. That would include food that in the long term could cause health problems, he added. Mello said the experience made him more interested in looking for ways to reform the food stamp program “Senator Mello has been a leading voice in the legislature advocating on hunger and housing issues,” said Dan Gilbert, chair of Temple Israel’s Social Justice Committee. “We’ve asked him to connect

our work with the legislature’s work. Everyone is welcome to attend.” Food Stamped, an informative and humorous documentary following a couple as they attempt to eat a healthy, wellbalanced diet on a food stamp budget, will be shown at 10 a.m. on Sunday, March 10, at Temple Israel. Through their adventures, the couple consult with members of the U.S. Congress, food justice organizations, nutrition experts, and people living on food stamps to take a deep look at America’s broken food system.

Omaha to take the challenge: can you eat on $31.50 a week? by CATHY CHRISTENSEN VP of Public Affairs, NCJW Omaha Section To many of us, taking a bag or two of food to the synagogue during Yom Kippur is a special and meaningful activity. On Purim, the importance of Jewish unity and friendship is also emphasized by eating and sending gifts of food. The National Council of Jewish Women, Omaha Section, along with Temple Israel, Beth El, Beth Israel, Friedel Jewish Academy, and the Jewish Community Center are sponsoring the Food Stamp Challenge from March 11-18. We are asking all of the Jewish community to participate in the Challenge and/or perform the mitzvot of helping give gifts of food, working to end hunger in Omaha. Did you know that the national average food stamp allotment in the United States is $31.50 per week per person, or just $1.50 per meal?

The Food Stamp Challenge has the following guidelines: 1. Each person can spend only a total of $31.50 on food and beverages per week this translates to $4.50 per day, or $1.50 per meal, per person. 2. All food purchased and eaten during the Challenge week, March 11-18, including fast food and dining out, must be included in the total spending. 3. During the Challenge, eat only food that you purchase for the project. Do not eat food that you already own. (This does not include spices and condiments.) 4. Avoid accepting free food from friends, family, or at work, including food at receptions or coffee in the office. 5. Keep track of receipts on food spending and take note of your experiences throughout the week. Donate the additional money you would have spent on food

during this week to the JFS Food Pantry and the Omaha Food Bank by bringing a check to your synagogue, or by donating canned goods and dry, pre-packaged food in the blue bins located in your synagogue and the JCC from March 9-25. Make checks out to Jewish Family Service or the Omaha Food Bank. 6. During this week, talk with your children, grandchildren and others about the importance of tzedakah, the concern of hunger in our community, and the mitzvah of sharing. 7. Don’t worry if you can’t do the Challenge, but please do consider a donation to the project. Nebraska State Senator Heath Mello took the Hunger Challenge. Come hear him speak about his experience at Temple Israel on Feb. 26, at 10 a.m. All are welcome!

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Temple Israel Brooks Institute presents three faiths’ impact on interfaith relations by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Clergy and educators from surrounding Nebraska and Iowa communities have been invited to the annual Rabbi Sidney H. and Jane Brooks Institute on Judaism for Clergy and Educators hosted by Temple Israel. Beginning at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 2, the Institute includes lunch and concludes about 2 p.m. Rabbi Aryeh Azriel of Temple Israel; Reverend Ernesto Medina, the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska; and University of Nebraska at Lincoln (UNL) Professor Simon Wood will provide examples from liturgy and selected sacred text from the Tanach, the Christian Bible, and Islam’s Qur’an to enhance the knowledge and awareness of all three faiths’ perception of “the other.” In today’s global society, these men of varied faiths will Rabbi Aryeh Azriel present practices that show respect for different worship traditions. They will consider examples from each of the three religions and reflect upon opportunities that teach about the others’ beliefs and observances. Rabbi Azriel has been the senior rabbi at Temple Israel since 1988. Prior to that, he served at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation. During his tenure at Temple Israel, a Thanksgiving Interfaith Service was established, and Temple Israel has engaged in Black/Jewish dialogue, outreach to schools in north and south Omaha, Save Darfur rallies, and provided educational forums on everything from health care policy to gay and lesbian rights. Rabbi Azriel has been instrumental in the formation of the Tri-Faith Initiative of Omaha, a partnership of Temple Israel, the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska, and the American Institute of Islamic Studies and Culture, committed to promote mutual respect and uphold the right to proclaim one’s own religion and serve God in his/her own way. A priest of the Episcopal Church for more than 20 years, Reverend Medina strives for all to know and experience the abundance of God’s love. The role of the church, he believes, is to be the community that is constantly holding up a mirror showing each and every person how God has been working in his or her life. The truth, according to the Reverend Medina, is that each is forgiven, loved, and welcomed at the table that has been set by God. Advocating that the church be a safe place for every person, the Reverend

encourages any question of faith. Co-editor of Awake My Soul, which models methodologies for intergenerational worship, Reverend Medina is a leader in the greater church in the areas of liturgy and formation. He has also been significantly involved in creating and shaping the Tri-Faith Initiative partnership. Simon A. Wood is an associate professor in the Department of Classics and Religious Studies at UNL. His

Reverend Ernesto Medina

Professor Simon Wood

expertise and research interests lie in the history of Islam, Christian-Muslim relations, Islam in the modern world, and comparative fundamentalism. Professor Wood has been at UNL since 2004. Prior to that he taught at Lehigh University and Franklin and Marshall College (both in Pennsylvania). Courses he has taught include Introduction to Islam; Introduction to World Religions; Judaism, Christianity and Islam; Islam in the Modern World; Fundamentalism, Religion, and Politics; The Qur’an; and Arabic. As an investigative partner with the Great Plains National Security Education Consortium, Dr. Wood has been involved in academic, research, cultural immersion, and outreach activities focused on national-security related topics for Nebraska students. His current research projects are Sunni-Shi’i relations, fundamentalism, and modern Islamic thought. Rabbi Sidney Brooks served Temple Israel from 1952 until he retired in 1985 when he was named Rabbi Emeritus. He believed that one of his most significant contributions was the establishment of the Institute on Judaism for Christian Clergy which was later renamed in his honor. He died in 1999. His wife Jane, who remains a member of the congregation, now lives in Massachusetts. To attend the Institute, please register at http://www.tem pleisrael-ne.org/brooks/ by Tuesday, Feb. 28. A donation of $10 in advance or at the door is suggested.

Fall Symposium announces topic by LEONARD GREENSPOON Klutznick Chair The Creighton University Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Harris Center for Judaic Studies announce the TwentyFifth Annual Klutznick-Harris Symposium, to take place in Omaha, on Sunday, Oct. 28, and Monday, Oct. 29, 2012. The theme of this year’s Symposium is Who Is A Jew?: Reflections on History, Religion, and Culture. The Program Committee seeks proposals in a variety of fields and from many approaches, genres, and media. We also hope to cover time periods from the biblical era to the modern world and to incorporate the experiences of different cultures and societies. Whenever possible, we encourage presentations that incorporate visual/audio components. Support for presenters’ transportation and accommodation will be provided. Proposals should contain a 200-word abstract and a complete CV; please submit them by April 15 to Leonard Greenspoon, Klutznick Chair, at ljgrn@creighton.edu. For further information, see the Klutznick Chair website at http://www.creighton.edu/ccas/klutznick/.

Organizations B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Mark Nasser, the radio voice of the Omaha Royals and now the “StormChasers” will talk about the new team and their stadium on Wednesday, Feb. 29, noon at the Blumkin Home. An optional buffet lunch costs $11; beverage service only is $3. For more information or to be placed on the email list call 402.334.6443 or bnaibrith@jewishomaha.org. LOMIR REDN YIDDISH To know Yiddish is to become an artist with words and a master at describing the foibles, the quirks, and the strengths of human character. Yiddish is the best way to understand the soul of the Jewish people. We meet every Thursday, from 1-3 p.m., at the Rose Blumkin Home Board Room. Come join us and enjoy meeting your soul mates. For information call Anne Skolkin at 402.343.1638.

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A Week of Understanding: Stories of survival and liberation by HILLARY FLETCHER Marketing Assistant, Institute for Holocaust Education “A Week of Understanding: Stories of Survival and Liberation” is an educational initiative produced by the Institute for Holocaust Education. It is designed to deliver Holocaust survivor testimony to a maximum number of students in one school week. Last year, the IHE, in partnership with Omaha Public Schools, provided testimony for 1,700 students and educators. The goal for the 2012 Week of Understanding is to provide survivor testimony to more than 2,000 students on site and through videoconferencing. In addition to survivors, United States war veterans who liberated concentration camps will also provide testimonies of their experiences as they released and rescued survivors. This year’s featured speakers will be Robbie Waisman, a child survivor of the Buchenwald concentration camp and Dr. Leon Bass, a member of the 183rd Engineer Combat Battalion, a unit that liberated Buchenwald. The two men have a unique relationship – Dr. Bass liberated Mr. Waisman from his imprisonment at Buchenwald. Together, they will provide their narratives as individuals and how their lives connected during the war. In addition to school engagements throughout the week, Waisman and Bass will speak one time to the community on Tuesday, March 6, at Countryside Community Church, 8787 Pacific Street in Omaha, from 7-9 p.m. The IHE will co-sponsor this community program with the Center for Faith Studies. Mr. Waisman was the featured speaker last year during the 2011 Omaha Holocaust Commemoration. Born in Skarzysko, Poland in 1931 to a very close-knit family, Waisman lost all of his family during the war, save for his sister Leah. Waisman survived in different concentration camps as a slave laborer in ammunition factories. He was liberated from Buchenwald on April 11th 1945. Waisman left Europe for Canada in December of 1949 where he settled and eventually married and raised his family. He lends much of his time to Holocaust education, speaking to thousands of students each year about his experiences during the war. As an educator and past president of the Vancouver Center for Holocaust Remembrance and Education, Waisman compels his audiences to be aware of hate and racism. Waisman believes, “As survivors, we have a duty and responsibility to not only tell what happened, but to teach compassion and understanding.”

Dr. Leon Bass returned from the war and graduated from West Chester University of Pennsylvania and then from Temple University where he received a doctorate. He became a teacher at Benjamin Franklin High School in Philadelphia, eventually becoming its principal, a position he held until 1981. He later taught history at George School, a Quaker boarding school in Newtown, Pennsylvania. Since that time, he has been a speaker on the subject of racism and the Holocaust, sharing his unique perspective as a witness of many forms of oppression. He was a participant in the International Liberators’ Conference, held in Washington D.C. in 1981. In 1994 he was the keynote speaker at the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust, and in 1996 he was awarded the Pearlman Award for Humanitarian Advancement from Jewish Women International. In addition to Mr. Waisman and Dr. Bass, featured speakers will include Holocaust survivors Bea Karp, Lou Leviticus, Fred Kader, and Rachel Rosenberg. Also scheduled to speak are liberators, including Roy Long who in addition to liberating Gunskirchenlager, also served as a guard at the Nuremberg Trials. In person testimony will take place at several schools throughout the greater Omaha area and through videoconferencing with survivors at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Countryside Community Church has limited seating. To reserve seats for the community event at Countryside Community Church, please visit www.ihene.org. Since 2000, the Institute for Holocaust Education has provided educational resources, workshops, survivor testimony, and integrated arts programming to thousands of students, educators and the public throughout Nebraska and surrounding areas. The IHE also provides support to local Holocaust survivors and their families. We consider Holocaust education an integral component in inspiring our community to create a more just and equitable society. For more information, please visit www.ihene.org. For more information on this event or “A Week of Understanding”, please call 402.334.6576. “A Week of Understanding: Stories of Survival and Liberation” has received generous funding from the Herbert Goldsten Trust, the Ruth Frisch and Oscar Belzer Endowment Fund, the Sadie and Harry Kulakofsky Endowment Fund.

What do ham sandwiches have to do with contraceptives? by RON KAMPEAS Opponents of President Obama’s proposal to require all but the most strictly religious of institutions to provide contraceptives coverage to staff have got their teeth into a new metaphor like dogs gnawing on a hambone. It’s this: Such a requirement is like forcing a kosher deli to sell pork. Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the majority leader, used pork chops in a tweet. Today in Congress, William Lori, the bishop of Bridgeport, Ct., used ham sandwiches. This might be a north-south regional thing. Delis abound in Bridgeport, BBQ joints in Richmond. Here’s the nut graf of Lori’s testimony today to the House Oversight Committee: The Orthodox Jewish community—whose members run kosher delis and many other restaurants and groceries besides—expresses its outrage at the new government mandate. And they are joined by others who have no problem eating pork—not just the many Jews who eat pork, but people of all faiths—because these others recognize the threat to the

principle of religious liberty. They recognize as well the practical impact of the damage to that principle. They know that, if the mandate stands, they might be the next ones forced— under threat of severe government sanction—to violate their most deeply held beliefs, especially their unpopular beliefs. In any case, I’m not sure it works, exactly, to the degree that proponents of the rule see contraceptives as a need and not as a choice. (Lori likens this posture to “the other white meat” ad campaign, but that pitches pork as an alternative, not a necessity.) He also likens the compromise, which would make the coverage available through third-party insurers who would fully pay for it, to setting up a ham sandwich kiosk inside a kosher butcher shop. A better metaphor might be this: If a starving man who desperately needs the protein in meat were to stumble into a milchik restaurant, should the restaurateur be legally obliged to refer him to the fleishik place down the street? G’wan. Get “fleishik” and “milchik” into your congressional testimony. I double dare ya.

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Temple Israel youth “Paint Up” for Spaghetti Dinner and Auction by CLAUDIA SHERMAN In collaboration with the theme, OTYG Temple Israel Communications Coordinator members coated themselves in paint after a Omaha Temple Youth Group (OTYG) game of Paint Wars in November. Then they members have been knocking on doors, rolled across large sheets of butcher block making phone calls, and scurrying around paper cut in the shape of a rainbow to call to town to collect auction prizes for their annual Spaghetti Dinner and Auction, Sunday, March 4, beginning at 5 p.m. So far, reported OTYG Advisor Amy Katz, “we have Husker football, College World Series, UNO Maverick, and Harlem Globetrotter tickets, a five-hour DJ package from Complete Music, and the always popular reserved parking spots at Temple Israel.” Hannah Perry, left and Morissa Miller design picture frames Connecting with the din- that will be auctioned at the OTYG Spaghetti Dinner. ner theme, A Night at the Museum, the mind Camp Rainbow, a camp near St. Louis teens have been creating picture frames for for children who have serious illnesses such the auction with the help of local artist Julie as cancer and blood disorders. Proceeds Phillips. The frames will be displayed in the from the Spaghetti Dinner are donated to lobby the week prior to the Spaghetti Dinner the camp as well as to a day camp for chilfor silent auction bidding. dren unable to stay overnight and a weekend In addition, original art, including photo- retreat in the winter for former campers. graphs by David Radler and Thomas Green, Money raised also provides Temple Israel’s an art gallery poster from Mangelson’s, glass three youth groups, OTYG, Junior Youth art crafted by Thomas Friedman and by Group, and Club 56, funds for programs and Larry Budwig will also be among the auc- scholarships to attend regional and national tion offerings. Katz mentioned that the events. silent auction, which begins at 10 a.m. on “Camp Rainbow is made possible by local March 4, includes sports, summer camp, youth groups like us,” explained Sophie, dog care, and other themed baskets. who is applying to be a camp volunteer in “I am so excited to plan this event,” said 2012. “Knowing that the Spaghetti Dinner Sophie Goldberg, OTYG Social Action vice will make so many kids happy makes it easy president/special projects coordinator, who and fun!” is chairing the Spaghetti Dinner and Adult charge for the dinner is $10; child’s Auction. “Each year, we add something new dinner is $4. Call Temple Israel at to make it even more successful,” she added. 402.556.6536 to make a reservation.

Friedel Science Fair

Attending the Friedel Jewish Academy’s Science Fair are, clockwise from top: Diana Senek and Dmitriy Masyuk with son Ivan; Sophia Mavrpoulos and Brittney Clignett in front of their project board; Isaac and Susan Witkowski and daughter Gabby; Leah Gurock, whose “best popcorn ever” project was very popular; Debbie Denenberg with daughter Rebecca. The Friedel science fair is held annually in February, and gives all Friedel students an opportunity to explore and experiment. Students from Creighton University are invited to meet with the students and judge their results.

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February 24, 2012 | The Jewish Press | 9

Siddurim for Friedel first graders

On Tuesday, Feb. 14, the first grade class at Friedel Jewish Academy received their Siddurim from teachers and parents. Top, from left to right: Rabbi Mizrahi, first grade Hebrew teacher Mor Sheinbein, Rabbi Gross, principal Ron Giller; middle: Hannah Stein, Ivan Masyuk, Julian Witkowski, Brittney Clignett, Sophia Mavropoulos and Noah Shrago; bottom: Jack Cohen, Peyton Kelln, Aviva Chana Shyken and Mendel Wright. Bottom picture: Sophia, Mendel, Aviva Chana and Brittney try out their new Siddurim inside the Riekes Shul and museum.

Star Deli Purim Dinner will be pur-fect by OZZIE NOGG On Tuesday evening, March 6, from 5:30-7:30 p.m., you’ll find “lots” of yumminess at the Star Deli Purim Dinner. So grab your graggers and come to the feast. Mike Aparo, RBJH Director of Food and Environmental Services, promises a culinary beauty pageant sure to be enjoyed by young and old, women and children. The Special Purim entrees are: Phantom Chicken. This delicacy takes sliced fowl, flattens it into medallions, rolls them up with peppers and fresh basil, coats the whole shebang with coconut and tops the creation with a Phantom of the Opera mask. (Legend has it that said chicken recipe comes straight from King Ahashuerus’s famous banquet menu...) The Unknown Special. This well-disguised mystery meal arrives at your table under cover. Each one is different. Each one is delicious. Could be brisket. Could be egg salad. Be brave as Esther and order an Unknown Special. You will not be disappointed. You will also become part of the drawing for a $25 Star Deli gift certificate. In addition to the Purim Specials, the ganseh megillah of Star Deli delights will be available -- corned beef, pastrami, egg or tuna salad sandwiches along with ever-popular salads and sides. Hamantashen, of course, will head the dessert list. “Dinner at

the Deli is a wonderful way to celebrate Purim with family and friends,” said Josh Gurock, Rose Blumkin Jewish Home Facilities Coordinator. “We look forward to

a big, tumultuous turnout on March 6.” True to the spirit of Purim, Deli staff and wait crew will be in costume. Diners who dare to dress in outrageous outfits will receive a free appetizer. The Star Deli on Main Street is open every Friday from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. In addition, the Deli is happy to host special occasions and will reserve private dining spaces in the RBJH for large groups. For more information on how Star Deli Catering can add spice to your meetings, parties and life cycle events, please contact Dan Stewart, Catering Coordinator, 402.334.6530 or Mike Aparo, 402.334.6522.

10 | The Jewish Press | February 24, 2012

A divided town, where the pursuit of bargains brings together Israelis and Palestinians by LINDA GRADSTEIN of the Israeli section of Barta’a. BARTA’A, West Bank (JTA) -- In these days of frozen “The commerce is all over there, not here,” he said. “We peace negotiations, most Israelis and Palestinians have little just get all of the dust.” contact. Palestinians need a special permit to enter Israel, Prices are higher in the Israeli section of Barta’a because and Israelis need army permission to enter the parts of the store owners there have to pay higher taxes. West Bank controlled by the Palestinian Authority. The shops line a narrow twisty road, and there is no desIn fact, just a mile north of this small West Bank town, a ignated parking lot. Badran says an estimated 80 percent of large yellow sign reminds drivers that “it is illegal to hand the shoppers are Arab citizens of Israel and 20 percent are over cars for repair to the Palestinian Authority or to enter Jewish Israelis. Palestinian areas.” “Before I knew about this place, I was really afraid to But in Barta’a, Israelis and come,” said Ben Harosh. Palestinians mix freely. The “Now that I know about it, I town is legally divided, with don’t want to leave. I don’t West Barta’a inside Israel and know anything about politics, East Barta’a in the West Bank. but this is the way things But there’s no physical barrier should be.” between the two sides, and Most of the citizens of East Barta’a has developed a Barta’a are from one large thriving market of hundreds clan, the Kabaha clan. On the of small stores selling everyIsraeli side, there are almost thing from coffee sets to 4,000 residents; on the sheets to food to special teddy Palestinian side, about 6,000. bears for Valentines Day. From 1948 to 1967, East “They have a good selecBarta’a was part of Jordan, tion, and the prices are much and families here were dividcheaper,” said Sharon Ben ed. In 1967, when Israel took Zidan Badran, mayor of the Israeli portion of the Arab town Harosh, a 43-year-old Israeli over the West Bank, families of Barta’a, stands on the seam that separates the Israeli Jew who frequently makes the were reunited; many families part of town from its West Bank portion. Credit: Linda four-hour trip from Eilat to are mixed, with one spouse Gradstein buy textiles for his shop. from Israeli Barta’a and the “There’s a feeling of authenticity here. I buy everything other from the Palestinian side. here -- rugs, furniture, dishes, curtains,” he said. “I really feel Rafat Kabaha, the head of town schools on the Israeli side, at home here.” says about one-third of the students come from the Palestinian store owner Ali Hamarshi, 48, grins and nods Palestinian side. If one parent is an Israeli citizen, the chilhis head. dren can study in the local Israeli school even if they live on “I bring things from many countries -- China, Turkey, the Palestinian side. Italy, the Philipines, Vietnam,” Hamarshi said. “India and Kabaha says 62 percent of the high school students receive China make the best kitchen goods, and many Israelis come a matriculation certificate, which enables them to attend here to buy.” university. That figure is almost double the overall rate of His words are echoed by Yusuf Zahar-Din, 52, who came other Arab citizens of Israel. to Barta’a from the Israeli Druze village of Usfiyya with his “Both our teachers and our students live here in the vilwife Hediye. lage, and our teachers are very committed,” Kabaha says. “We changed the tires on our car, bought some gifts and Barta’a is easy to reach -- it is just a few minutes away from had a great meal of lamb,” Zahar-Din said smiling. “The a major Israeli highway. Badran hopes that Israelis will conpeople here are so nice. I love coming here.” tinue to come but that Israeli Barta’a will develop as well. He added that prices are 50-60 percent less than inside “I have a dream,” he said. “I’d like to see people from all Israel. nations over the world coming here. In China they’ve But not everyone benefits equally from the throngs of already heard about Barta’a because we buy so many Israelis driving into Barta’a, says Zidran Badran, the mayor Chinese goods. We could even build a hotel here.”

The history of the missile defense controversy by RON KAMPEAS According to the Washington Free Beacon, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Howard McKeon (R-Calif.), chairman of its Armed Services Committee, are “deeply concerned” that Obama’s budget asked for a cut in funding for joint U.S.-Israel anti-missile defense development, from $106 million to $100 million. Republicans are already making hay of this -- see the comment from Matt Brooks, the Republican Jewish Coalition director, in the earlier Free Beacon story that broke the news of the proposed cut. Such proposed cuts to joint spending on missile defense (and Congress’ tendency to restore them, and then some) are routine, however. Here’s an example from 2007: Funding for 2006 was $138 million; George W. Bush asked for it to be cut to $80 million; Congress approved $155 million. The reasoning behind the periodic proposals by Pentagon bureaucrats to make such cuts are opaque, but the nature of the funding should be considered as a factor. Unlike the $3 billion Israel gets in annual defense assistance, this is not a “give.” It is a cooperative venture: Both nations benefit from the development of the anti-missile systems, in terms both of defensive use and later sales. So a Pentagon numbers cruncher is considering not only “does this help our ally, Israel,” she’s thinking: “Is this program working? Is it cost-efficient? Is the money better spent on another system that would defend U.S. interests?” The number cruncher might also be asking his or her Israeli counterpart what the Israeli calculus is regarding the program, and take that into account. This missile kerfuffle is not unlike the partisan jabs at the

Obama administration over its Iran policy. There have always been differences between the legislative and executive branches over when and how to raise the stakes with hostile states, no matter which party occupies which House. It’s as old as the Republic. In election years, these take on partisan hues, although they are anything but: Bush pushed back against congressional demands for increased sanctions with greater vigor than Obama, and not because he was Persia-phile. Like his predecessors and successor, he sought to limit congressional meddling in foreign policy, and like them, he had to consider international realities (in Bush’s case, managing Iraq, and in both Bush’s and Obama’s case, bringing other nations into the Iran mix) that did not redound as heavily in Congress. The trick for election watchers is to sweep aside the partisan sniping and ask: Which policies would change with another president in office? One area where there probably would have been a genuine partisan divide is the issue of American funding for UNESCO. As we reported last night, the Obama administration has launched the process to re-fund UNESCO. It’s seeking a waiver on a law that bans funding organizations that have essentially recognized a Palestinian state. Ros-Lehtinen has objected to the administration’s request. Defunding UNESCO spooked other U.N. bodies into effectively squelching the Palestinian bid last year for statehood recognition. This would revive that bid, she reasons. I can’t imagine, to the degree that I’ve made myself familiar with the various GOP presidential campaigns in recent months, any Republican president making a similar ask to the Obama’s administration’s waiver request. There is no Republican candidate with the same attachment to multilateralism as Obama.

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Community Calendar FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24 Star Deli, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH Youth Group Lock In Overnight, 5 p.m. at Temple Israel SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25 Pulpit Swap with Rabbi Shaanan Gellman at Beth Israel Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel Family Service & Jr Congregation, 11 a.m. at Beth El BBYO Weizmann AZA #1510 & Ediar BBG #710 Chapter Rush, 7 p.m. SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26 Hamatashen Bake-a-Palooza, 9 a.m. at Beth El BESTT Classes PreK-7, 9:45 a.m. at Beth El MRJ/SJ Speaker: Senator Mello, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel WRJ Meeting, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Adult Education Classes, 10 a.m.-noon at Beth El Steering Committee Meeting, 12:15 p.m. at Temple Israel MTA Group Rehearsals, 3 p.m. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27 Wrestling w/Rabbis of the Talmud with Rabbi Abraham, 10 a.m. at Beth El Monday Moadon, Grades 2-7, 4:15 p.m. at Beth El Israeli Cooking Classes, 7 p.m. at Beth El Jewish Press Board Meeting, 7 p.m. Teens 4 Israel, 7:30 p.m. at Starbucks, 114th & Dodge CJE Introduction to Judaism, 8 p.m. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28 Beth El’s YAC Parent/Toddler Playgroup, 10:30 a.m. Eye on Israel, noon BBYO Night, 6 p.m. BBG Council Rush (Girls Only), 6 p.m. JFO Executive Committee Meeting, 6 p.m. Hebrew 101, 6:30 p.m. Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel YJO Casino Night, 7 p.m. at RBJH JFO Board Meeting, 7:30 p.m. Guide of the Perplexed class, 8 p.m. at Beth Israel WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 29 B’nai B’rith Breadbreakers, 11:45 a.m. Scholars Club for 4th, 5th & 6th Graders, 4 p.m. BESTT Classes, 4:15 p.m. at Beth El Omaha Jewish Chai School, 6:30 p.m. Ethics of Stein & Levinaas, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel BESTT 8th Grade Class, 6:45 p.m. at RBJH Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel THURSDAY, MARCH 1 Women of the Torah, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Jewish Responsa w/ Rabbi Azriel, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Adult Ed Class with Rabbi Levin, noon at Beth El Curriculum Committee Meeting, 5 p.m. FRIDAY, MARCH 2 Rabbi Sidney H. & Jane Brooks Institute on Judaism, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Star Deli, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH Say ‘Shalom!’ to Shabbat! & Tot Shabbat, 6 p.m. at Beth El Dinner & Drash with the Clergy, 7 p.m. at Beth El SATURDAY, MARCH 3 Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel Junior Congregation (Grades 2-7), 10 a.m. at Beth El YJO Purim Party, 8 p.m. JCC Dance Training Company Performance, 8 p.m. SUNDAY, MARCH 4 Family Breakfast sponsered by WRJ/MRJ, 9 a.m. at Temple Israel Artza Kick-Off Team Building Event, 9 a.m. BESTT Classes K-7, 9:45 a.m. at Beth El Tour of Hindu Temple, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Weekly Torah Study, 10 a.m. at Beth El JCC Camp Day, 1 p.m. MTA Group Rehearsals, 3 p.m. Beth El’s Got Talent Annual Scholarship Concert, 4 p.m. OTYG Spaghetti Dinner, 5 p.m. at Temple Israel MONDAY, MARCH 5 Wrestling w/Rabbis of the Talmud, 10 a.m. at Beth El Monday Moadon, Grades 2-7, 4:15 p.m. at Beth El JFS Love & Logic, 6:15 p.m. CJE Introduction to Judaism, 8 p.m. TUESDAY, MARCH 6 BBYO Night, 6 p.m. BBYO Pledge Night, 6 p.m. Hebrew 101, 6:30 p.m. Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel NCJW Board Meeting, 7 p.m. JCC Board Meeting, 7 p.m. Guide of the Perplexed class, 8 p.m. at Beth Israel

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7 Scholars Club for 4th, 5th & 6th Graders, 4 p.m. Purim’s Cool for grades PK-7, 4:15 p.m. at Beth El Family Megillah Reading & Dinner, 5:30 p.m. at Beth El Purim Spiel & Dinner, 6 p.m. Temple Israel Omaha Jewish Chai School, 6:30 p.m. Megillah Reading, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel Break-the-Fast Dinner, 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel Late Megillah Reading, 9 p.m. at Beth Israel THURSDAY, MARCH 8 Early Megillah Reading, 7 a.m. at Beth Israel Megillah Reading, 9 a.m. at Beth Israel Women of the Torah, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Jewish Responsa w/Rabbi Azriel, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel CJE Board Meeting, noon Women’s Book Group, 1 p.m. at Beth El Friedel Purim Talent Show, 1 p.m. Megillah Reading, 3 p.m. at Remington Heights Megillah Reading, 4:30 p.m. at Beth Israel Purim Seuda & Costume Contest, 5 p.m. at Beth Israel Evening Megillah Reading, 6 p.m. at Beth Israel FRIDAY, MARCH 9 Star Deli, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH Lunch with Beth El’s Rabbi Levin, noon RBJH Star Deli Temple Israel at Remington Heights, 4:30 p.m. Tot Shabbat and Dinner, 6 p.m. at Temple Israel SATURDAY, MARCH 10 Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel Junior Congregation (Grades 2-7), 10 a.m. at Beth El SUNDAY, MARCH 11 Book Sorting, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Weekly Torah Study, 10 a.m. at Beth El USY Purim Carnival, 11:30 a.m. at Beth El Purim Carnival, noon at Temple Israel MTA Group Rehearsals, 3 p.m. Federation Partnership Program Gaatan Dancers, 7 p.m. MONDAY, MARCH 12 Wrestling w/Rabbis of the Talmud, 10 a.m. at Beth El Monday Moadon, Grades 2-7, 4:15 p.m. at Beth El JFS Love & Logic, 6:15 p.m. CJE Introduction to Judaism, 8 p.m. TUESDAY, MARCH 13 CDC Mission Imagination: Omaha Symphony, 9:30 a.m. Beth El’s YAC Parent/Toddler Playgroup, 10:30 a.m. BBYO Night, 6 p.m. Live from the 92nd Street Y: George Mitchell, 7 p.m. Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel Guide of the Perplexed class, 8 p.m. at Beth Israel WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14 Rabbis & Presidents Committee Meeting, noon Scholars Club for 4th, 5th & 6th Graders, 4 p.m. BESTT Classes, 4:15 p.m. at Beth El Omaha Jewish Chai School, 6:30 p.m. Board Meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Beth Israel BESTT 8th Grade Class, 6:45 p.m. at RBJH Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel THURSDAY, MARCH 15 Women of the Torah, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Jewish Responsa w/Rabbi Azriel, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Friedel Kindergarten Roundup, 10:30 a.m. Kripke Library Book Discussion Group, 1 p.m. FRIDAY, MARCH 16 Star Deli, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH SATURDAY, MARCH 17 Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel Family Service & Junior Congregation, 10:30 a.m. at Beth El SUNDAY, MARCH 18 BESTT Classes PreK-7, 9:45 a.m. Beth El Adult Education Classes, 10 a.m.-noon at Beth El 39 Forever, noon at Joslyn Art Museum Jewish Omaha Youth Foundation Meeting, 1 p.m. MTA Group Rehearsals, 3 p.m. MONDAY, MARCH 19 Wrestling w/Rabbis of the Talmud, 10 a.m. at Beth El JFS Love & Logic, 6:15 p.m. CJE Introduction to Judaism, 8 p.m.

TUESDAY, MARCH 20 B’nai B’rith Board Meeting, 11:45 a.m. Friedel Board Meeting, 5:30 p.m. BBYO Night, 6 p.m. BBYO Mr. AZA, 6 p.m. Board of Trustees Meeting, 7 p.m. at Temple Israel Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel BESTT School Board Meeting, 7 p.m. at Beth El WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21 NJHS Board Meeting, 4 p.m. Scholars Club for 4th, 5th & 6th Graders, 4 p.m. BESTT Classes, 4:15 p.m. at Beth El Temple Israel Social Justice Hosting Family Night at Bancroft School, 5 p.m. Omaha Jewish Chai School, 6:30 p.m. BESTT 8th Grade Class, 6:45 p.m. at RBJH Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel

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THURSDAY, MARCH 22 Women of the Torah, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel God Was in This Place w/Rabbi Linder, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Parent/Teacher Conferences, 5 p.m. at Friedel Federation Young Leadership Alumni Celebration, 6 p.m. JFS Love & Logic, 6 p.m. IHE Holocaust Film Series, 7 p.m. LOVE Board Meeting, 7 p.m.

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FRIDAY, MARCH 23 Star Deli, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH JSS Mainstreeters Movie after the Deli, 1 p.m. Beth El Kadima Kinnus, 3 p.m. SATURDAY, MARCH 24 Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel Junior Congregation (Grades 2-7), 10 a.m. at Beth El Shabbat Storytime with Shira Abraham, 11:30 a.m. at Beth El SUNDAY, MARCH 25 Beth El’s Habitat for Humanity Volunteer Day, 8 a.m. BESTT Classes PreK-7, 9:45 a.m. at Beth El Adult Education Classes, 10 a.m.-noon at Beth El Club 56 Event, noon at Temple Israel Limmud for Teachers - Wikispaces, 12:30 p.m. Mainstreeters Program & Dinner at Bellevue Little Theatre, 12:45 p.m. MTA Group Rehearsals, 3 p.m. MONDAY, MARCH 26 JFS Project Tzedakah - Passover, 7:30 a.m. Wrestling w/Rabbis of the Talmud, 10 a.m. at Beth El Monday Moadon, Grades 2-7, 4:15 p.m. at Beth El JFS Love & Logic, 6:15 p.m. Israeli Cooking Classes, 7 p.m. at Beth El Women’s Rosh Hodesh Meeting, 7 p.m. at Beth El Teens 4 Israel, 7:30 p.m. at Starbucks, 114th & Dodge CJE Introduction to Judaism, 8 p.m. TUESDAY, MARCH 27 JFS Project Tzedakah - Passover, 8 a.m. YAC Parent/Toddler Playgroup, 10:30 a.m. Beth El BBYO Night, 6 p.m. JFO Executive Committee Meeting, 6 p.m. Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel JFO Board Meeting, 7:30 p.m. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28 Scholars Club for 4th, 5th & 6th Graders, 4 p.m. BESTT Classes, 4:15 p.m. at Beth El Omaha Jewish Chai School, 6:30 p.m. Rabbi Steve Greenberg, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel BESTT 8th Grade Class, 6:45 p.m. at RBJH Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel THURSDAY, MARCH 29 BBYO Spring Regional Convention thru April 1 Women of the Torah, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel God Was in This Place w/Rabbi Linder, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Beth El Pesach Program @ Remington Heights, 1:40 p.m. JFS Love & Logic, 6 p.m. Hebrew Mamita Performance Co-sponsored by ADL, JCC, & YJO, 7 p.m. Scholar Rabbi Steve Greenberg, 7 p.m. at Temple Israel FRIDAY, MARCH 30 Star Deli, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH Scholar Rabbi Steve Greenberg, 6 p.m. at Temple Israel SATURDAY, MARCH 31 Scholar Rabbi Steve Greenberg, 9 a.m. at Temple Israel Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel Men’s Club Shabbat, 9:30 a.m. at Beth El

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330-0200 All events held at the Jewish Community Center unless otherwise noted. This calendar does not include all community events. For a complete listing, visit the Federation’s website: www.jewishomaha.org (click on calendar). To keep calendar accurate, call Marlene Hert at 334-6437. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the accuracy of the above events.

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12 | The Jewish Press | February 24, 2012

Point of view

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Come again?

by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Editor of the Jewish Press In case you missed it: Elie Wiesel recently spoke out against the Mormon practice of posthumously baptizing Jews. A researcher recently discovered Wiesel’s name on a to-do list of proxy baptisms (they have lists?!), as well as the names of his father and maternal grandfather. A spokesman for the Church of Latter Day Saints downplayed the findings: “The names were simply entered into the genealogical database,” he said. “Submission for proxy baptism is a separate process. Regarding the name of a living individual on the database, the submitter mistakenly entered information into a field that indicated that individual was deceased. Once it was determined that this person is still living, that name was removed, since we do not include information on living persons in our database.” This “proxy baptism” is not a new problem, which is why the outrage quickly turned to a tired and irritated sort of feeling: not this again. Didn’t this same researcher just find out Simon Wiesenthal’s parents were baptized by the Mormon church a few years ago? The church had to apologize for that. Apparently that didn’t stick; spokesmen continue to hide behind the “pranksters or careless individuals”-defense, hardly a satisfactory way to take responsibility. In fact, that’s not taking responsibility at all. We don’t really need to discuss why converting Jews long after they have passed on is not a good thing. It seems obvious, and extending this nasty habit to Holocaust victims is

the very large icing on the cake. The real question is: would the Mormon Church (or certain elements within that church, at the very least) continue this practice if no one spoke up about it? In spite of several agreements between Mormon and Jewish leaders, and in

spite of several official church apologies, the practice continues to pop up, “because all who have lived on the earth have not had the opportunity to be baptized by the proper authority during life on earth.” What’s more: Mormon doctrine emphasizes that through baptism, past sins are forgiven. And therein lies the problem. Who decides what constitutes the “proper authority,” and who decides that baptism is a necessary ritual for “all who have lived on earth?” Who defines these so-called “past sins”, and who decides who has

committed them? Not us, and certainly not the deceased baptism candidates themselves. Simon Wiesenthal’s mother Rosa died in 1942 in the Belzek extermination camp. Baptizing her by proxy is beyond insulting; there are no words. Never mind the Mormon belief that baptism needs to be accepted by the deceased recipient in order to be effective, and so there’s really no harm done. It simply doesn’t work that way. At the end of the day, the practice operates from the assumption there is something wrong with us. And that is the real key: it belies a belief that being Jewish is simply not good enough, and haven’t we been there before? It’s the very definition of anti-Semitism. Freedom of religion is a beautiful thing, and I’m a big fan. However, when one abuses that freedom to interfere with another’s, it defeats the purpose. “With deepest respect to our Jewish friends,” the Mormon website states, “the church cannot abandon fundamental aspects of its religious doctrine and practice, and it should not be asked to do so.” But: we’re not asking the church to abandon its religious doctrine. What we’re asking is that they leave us out of it. It’s their doctrine, not ours. Also, I take issue with this “Jewish friends” bit. It sounds condescending, and at this point in time, I’m not sure we’re feeling all that friendly. And that is a shame; after all, we cannot allow something like this to get in the way of our own tolerance. Not all members of the Church of Latter Day Saints agree with the practice of baptizing Jews, I suspect. It is tempting to treat the Mormon Church as a homogenous group that fundamentally misunderstands how others view proxy baptisms. But we have to bear in mind that Mormon Church members can think for themselves. And that maybe your Mormon neighbor, or colleague, has an entirely different view, and maybe is just as horrified by the notion of baptizing someone like Rosa Wiesenthal. It is only when we forget this that we are truly in trouble.

Medicaid reforms need not undermine services

Focus on issues DAVID SAPERSTEIN and WILLIAM DAROFF WASHINGTON (JTA) -- During February, Jewish communities across North America observe Jewish Disability Awareness Month. It is an opportunity for us to raise awareness of the needs, strengths, opportunities and challenges of individuals with disabilities in our communities, and to ensure we are building more inclusive communities that celebrate all of our neighbors. The Jewish community, through its institutions and social service agencies, has been increasingly effective in serving the critical needs of individuals with disabilities and their families. At the same time, we recognize the indispensible impact that Medicaid has on the ability to provide for these needs. For many members of our communities with disabilities seeking healthy, independent lives, Medicaid is an essential resource. Earlier this month, Jewish leaders from across America came to Washington to express to Congress how vitally important Medicaid is to the disability community, as well as the agencies and communities that serve them. More than 8 million individuals with disabilities in America rely on Medicaid as their sole source of comprehensive health and long-term care coverage. Medicaid ensures that people with disabilities have access to essential services, including transportation, medical care and personal care assistance. This, in turn, ensures that they are able to contribute economically, socially, politically and spiritually to their communities. Unfortunately, under several prominent congressional proposals being considered as part of deficit reduction

(Founded in 1920) Andrew Ruback President Annette van de Kamp-Wright Editor Richard Busse Creative Director Allan Handleman Advertising Manager Jessie Wees Advertising Executive Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Editor Barbara Kirkpatrick Bookkeeper

Jewish Press Board Eric Dunning, Vice President; Jason Epstein, Treasurer; Bobbi Leibowitz, Past President; Marc Brodkey; Phyllis Brown; Daniel Christensen; Mel Epstein; Scott Farkas; Michael Kaufman; Paul Rabinowitz; Caryn Scheer; Mark Senal; Nancy Wolf. The role of the Jewish Federation of Omaha is to involve Jews in meeting Jewish communal needs locally, nationally and in Israel. Agencies of the Federation are: Community Relations, Jewish Community Center, Center for Jewish Education, Jewish Family Service/Jewish Senior Services, and the Jewish Press. Guidelines and highlights of the Jewish Press, including front page stories and announcements, can be found online at: www jewishoma-

efforts, Medicaid would be restructured by capping funds flowing to states and/or creating a block grant formula. Block granting or capping Medicaid funds would result in the denial of health and long-term care to millions of Americans, including those with disabilities. These kinds of spending cuts and harmful changes to Medicaid would undermine human dignity by limiting the choices and opportunities for people with disabilities. Terry Burke and Andy Berman of St. Louis Park, Minn., say that Medicaid has truly been “the saving grace in their family.” Their 23-year old daughter, Rachel, who has cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism and moderate cognitive disability, is the joy of their lives, but things have not always been easy. When Andy was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, he and Terry quickly learned that juggling the demands of health care for Andy and care for Rachel was extremely challenging. Through Medicaid, Rachel is able to have personal care assistants, or PCAs, help her with basic needs, ranging from showers and meals to helping with her visits to the doctor. She also has the opportunity to participate in programs that truly contribute to her happiness and “allow her to really have a life,” such as recreational social nights, exercise programs and making dinner with her PCAs. As Terry and Andy grow older, as they balance managing the health needs of Andy and Rachel, and their ability to manage Rachel’s care declines, they cannot imagine a future without the services provided through Medicaid. Leading Jewish organizations have made it a priority to fight to protect the services and benefits that individuals with disabilities and their families receive under the Medicaid program. We as a community believe that while

there is still a need to reform the program to ensure it remains sustainable through a time of austerity, the program provides services to individuals with disabilities and their families that must remain intact. Collectively, the Jewish community sees a number of effective ways that Medicaid can be reformed while realizing cost savings. These proposed recommendations range from allowing funding for home - and community-based services (services that cost less than comparable institutionalized care) to be accessed without the current burdensome waiver process, to promoting preventative measures such as chronic disease management. Other recommendations include enrolling beneficiaries in drug and care management programs, which ultimately would improve the delivery of services and generate savings. Any reforms to Medicaid to make it financially sustainable for future generations must be made with the mind-set that Medicaid remains available as a source of health and longterm services for individuals with disabilities and other lowincome populations. Jewish organizations and social service agencies across America stand ready to work with our federal and state governments to ensure that individuals with disabilities are able to live healthy, independent lives. We all have a role to play in ensuring this end, and Medicaid is an essential tool in that effort. Rabbi David Saperstein is director and counsel of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. William Daroff is vice president for public policy and director of the Washington office of The Jewish Federations of North America.

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material and photos to: avandekamp @jewishomaha.org; send ads (in .TIF or .PDF format) to: rbusse@jew ishomaha.org. Letters to the Editor Guidelines The Jewish Press welcomes Letters to the Editor. They may be sent via regular mail to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154; via fax: 1.402.334.5422 or via e-mail to the Editor at: avandekamp@jew ishomaha.org. Letters should be no longer than 250 words and must be single-spaced typed, not hand-written. Published letters should be confined to opinions and comments on articles or events. News items should not be submitted and printed as a “Letter to the Editor.” The Editor may edit letters for content

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February 24, 2012 | The Jewish Press | 13

Maintaining the message of Israel Peace Week

Behind the headlines NATALIE MENAGED NEW YORK (JTA) -- Next week, Israel haters again will launch the misinformed and misinforming movement known as Israel Apartheid Week at universities and in communities throughout the world. The good news is that while Israel Apartheid Week claims to be growing, its execution on North American campuses is limited to a handful, and even on those campuses the organizers do not reach many undecided students. Meanwhile, another student-led movement about Israel will include participants on 75 campuses across North America, and is poised to impact a far larger and more diverse audience. The movement is Israel Peace Week, a student-conceived, grass-roots educational campaign now in its third year. Created as a pre-emptive response to Israel Apartheid Week, Israel Peace Week has developed into a proactive and engaging campaign that is effective regardless of whether there is anti-Israel activity on a specific campus. Israel Peace Week revolves around a simple, yet often understated message: Israel wants peace and has demonstrated its willingness to make painful sacrifices for peace. The campaign also outlines options for peace, existential threats to the Jewish state, and the values and accomplishments of a thriving Israeli democracy in an otherwise despotic region. Organizers of Israel Peace Week employ methods such as interactive displays in the center of campus, cultivating relationships with non-Jewish groups on campus, writing in the campus newspaper, and innovative social media campaigns in order to educate as many of their peers as possible. In stark contrast, the main thrust of Israel Apartheid Week is to generate support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, a campaign that calls on universities and individuals to divest from companies that do business in Israel, boycott the sale of goods produced in West Bank settlements, and boycott Israeli universities and professors. By singling Israel out for censure and advocating for a one-state solution, BDS is not simply a movement to criticize Israeli policy but an effort to delegitimize the state itself. A recent study conducted by The Israel Project and the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise indicates that most university students, while knowing little about the issues, are not sympathetic to the idea of boycotting Israel. And when the goals of the BDS movement are explained, opposition to the idea increases significantly. The arguments that both sides must accept responsibility for creating peace and that there are more constructive ways than boycotting to express concern about a government’s policies - dialogue, for instance -- resonate strongly with students.

Even before the study, the students who created Israel Peace Week two years ago intuited that their peers could be engaged with messages about peace and how to achieve it. By propagating a solution-oriented message, Israel Peace Week lends wider understanding to the efforts that Israel has made for peace, and the reality that terror and incitement must be eradicated to bring about a true solution. It is an opportunity for pro-Israel students to discuss difficult topics in a resonant manner. The contrast between solution-seeking and boycott is sadly mirrored in the Middle East today, of course. While Israel maintains a willingness to dialogue with the Palestinian Authority without preconditions, last September the PA sought to circumvent a negotiated settlement through its unilateral statehood bid. Support for the statehood bid also did not gain traction on campus, while campaigns about Israel’s efforts for a negotiated peace were better received. As the PA enters a unity government with Hamas, which openly calls for Israel’s destruction, Israel Peace Week organizers must communicate that this is yet another obstacle to peace. While the BDS movement may not have wide appeal on campus, it is gaining academic legitimacy, most alarmingly by hosting conferences at Ivy League institutions such as Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania. While the universities have not endorsed the conferences,

they are championed by prominent academics on each campus. At Penn, political science chair Ian Lustick, a wellknown critic of Israel, expressed his support while stopping just shy of directly endorsing BDS. At Harvard, conference organizers are planning appearances by Harvard Law professor Duncan Kennedy, Kennedy School of Government professor Stephen Walt and Israeli academic Ilan Pappe, among others. The TIP/AICE data also indicate that 83 percent of students who have taken a Middle Eastern studies course believed their professors to be unbiased. This perception, when considered in light of growing academic delegitimization of Israel, has serious long-term implications. Taking both the success of Israel Peace Week and the widening legitimacy of the BDS movement into account, the pro-Israel community must think critically about how to maintain support for Israel among tomorrow’s leaders. It certainly seems that the messages of peace and equality are more persuasive than boycotts and sanctions. How do we ensure that Israel’s supporters are more influential than its detractors? As new battlegrounds arise, it’s a question that must be considered. Natalie Menaged is the director of education of the Hasbara Fellowships, a project of Aish International that educates, trains and inspires students to stand up for Israel on campus.

The most contentious post in American journalism

Focus on issues BEN HARRIS It was merely a matter of hours before Jodi Rudoren, announced yesterday as the next Jerusalem bureau chief for The New York Times, found herself embroiled in controversy. Multiple controversies, really. The main issue is a number of tweets that critics of various stripes are looking to as evidence of her bias. There’s a helpful roundup of the tweets in the Washington Free Beacon, but the two causing the biggest stir are her friendly message to Electronic Intifada founder Ali Abunimah and her approving comment about Peter Beinart’s new book. In interviews with Politico and Tablet’s The Scroll blog, Rudoren professes naivete about these newfangled social media tools. The message for Abunimah, she says, was intended to be a private message. Tablet’s Marc Tracy, for one, finds that defense credible and offers a dose of advice. “I see those tweets as evidence not of bias or slant but of somebody not understanding the power of this medium and the scrutiny she is now under. I would also humbly

suggest, as someone perhaps no longer quite a novice, that she tweet and retweet from no sides of the conflict.” Meanwhile, everyone and their uncle is delving into Rudoren’s extensive paper trail (926 bylines in The New York Times as of 2006) in a search for clues about the woman soon to have an outsized influence in shaping public opinion about the Middle East. There’s been some tittering about her decision to combine her name with her husband’s after they were married (Rudoren is the reporter formerly known as Jodi Wilgoren) and an archaeological source for clues about her biases in a piece from December about whether to identify her children culturally as Jewish. She wrote: “Maybe we should make an American flag with sixpointed stars, signifying Jewish-American. Or would that feel like defacing the flag? Did I want them primarily identified as Jews? (I know, I already sent them to public school with Hebrew and Yiddish first names.)” About the only thing that can be said with certainty at this point is that Rudoren has provided plenty of red meat (arguably too much) for the critics that inevitably pounce on every perceived tilt in Mideast coverage by the newspaper of record.

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14 | The Jewish Press | February 24, 2012

Synagogues B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE 618 Mynster Street | Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 | 402.322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com For information on our historic synagogue – dates and times for Friday night services, please call 712.323.8885.

WEDNESDAY: Scholars Club for fourth-sixth graders, 3:30 p.m. with Rabbi Mizrahi; Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m. THURSDAY: Women of the Torah class, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Gross.

BETH EL SYNAGOGUE

CHABAD HOUSE

Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California | Omaha, NE 68154-1980 | 402.492.8550 www.bethel-omaha.org Services conducted by Rabbi Mordechai Levin, Rabbi Steven Abraham and Cantor Beth Schlossberg. FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. SATURDAY: Shabbat Services, 9:30 a.m.; Junior Congregation (2-7), 10 a.m.; Family Shabbat service, 10:30 a.m.; Kiddush given by Beth El; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 5:50 p.m. WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sundays, 9 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m. SUNDAY: Torah Study Discussion Group, 10 a.m.; A World without Jews, with Andy Greenberg, 10 a.m.; Diversity in Movies: Embracing the World with open Jewish eyes, 10 a.m. with Susi Frydman-Levin; BESTT Family History Program for fourth and fifth graders and their families, 10:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m. Each family will discuss their immigration stories and share a Jewish heirloom in their family. MONDAY: Wrestling with Rabbis of the Talmud, 10 a.m. with Rabbi Abraham; Israeli Cooking Class, 7 p.m., led by Na’ama Keren. To RSVP, contact Na’ama at 402.590.2148, or nkeren@jewishomaha.org. THURSDAY: Rabbi Levin’s What Do Jews Believe, noon. The community is invited to the Beth El’s Got Talent, the 2012 Cantor’s Youth Scholarship Concert, on Sunday, March 4, 4 p.m., at the synagogue. The afternoon will feature singing, dancing, juggling and fun for all ages. For ticket prices, contact the office, or visit www.bethel-omaha.org. All classes and programs are open to everyone in the Jewish community.

An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 South 120 Street | Omaha, NE 68144-1646 | 402.330.1800 www.OChabad.com | email: chabad@aol.com Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m. FRIDAY: Services, 7 a.m. SATURDAY: Shabbat Minyan, 10 a.m.; Youth Minyan, 10:30 a.m.; Kiddush luncheon will follow. Join Rabbi Katzman, noon-1 p.m. Special Farbrengen to mark festive and important dates in the month of Shvat; New feature: Parsha Patrol. SUNDAY: Service, 8:30 a.m. followed by breakfast at 9:30 a.m. MONDAY: JLI class, Money Matters Class, 7-8:30 p.m. Refreshments served. WEEKDAYS: Services, 7 a.m. All programs are open to the entire community.

Candlelighting Friday, February 24, 5:52 p.m.

NEIGHBORHOOD PRAYER GROUP 1317 North 57 Street | Omaha, NE 68132 | 402.551.6609 FRIDAY: Minyan, 5:52 p.m. SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m.

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME

BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific Street | Omaha, NE. 68154 | 402.556.6288 www.BethIsrael@OrthodoxOmaha.org Office Hours: Mon.-Thurs., 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Fri., 8:30 a.m-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Jonathan Gross and Rabbi Yitzchak Mizrahi. FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 5:52 p.m.; Beth Israel is pleased to welcome Rabbi Shaanan Gelman as our scholarin-residence this Shabbat. SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Free babysitting service begins at 9:30 a.m.; Children’s Classes begin with Torah Parade, 9:45 a.m.; Kiddush is sponsored by Sisterhood; The Laws of Shabbat, 3:30 p.m.; Advanced Parshah Study for Kids (ages 10 and up), 4:30 p.m.; Rabbi Gross’s Twitter Topic Class, 4:30 p.m.; Mincha, 5:30 p.m., followed by Seuda Shlishit; Havdalah, 6:53 p.m. SUNDAY: Gemara class, 8 a.m., learning tractate Kiddushin; Shacharit, 9 a.m. followed by breakfast. WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m. MONDAY: Weekly Teleconference Mishnah Class, 10:30 a.m. with Rabbi Gross. Contact the office for information on how to call-in to the conference call; Teens 4 Israel Latte & Learning, 7:30 p.m. at Starbucks, 114th & Dodge. TUESDAY: Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m.; A Guided Tour of the Guide of the Perplexed, with Dr. Guy Matalon, 8 p.m.

Bat Mitzvah Mikayla Langdon, daughter of Sharon Comisar-Langdon and Randy Langdon, will become a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, March 3, at Temple Israel. Mikayla is a seventh-grade Honor Roll student at Russell Middle School. She has received awards in art achievement and school leadership. Her interests include books, art, swimming, basketball and being a madricha at Temple Israel. For her mitzvah project, Mikayla is volunteering at Heartland Equine Therapautic Riding Academy (HETRA). She is a toy and equipment assistant for the students and instructors and also grooms and completes tack changes on the horses. She has a sister, Dayna. Grandparents are Edith Comisar and the late Alvin Comisar, Emily and Don McWhirter and the late William Keith Langdon.

CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN South Street Temple | Union for Reform Judaism 2061 South 20th Street | Lincoln, NE 68502-2797 | 402.435.8004 www.southstreettemple.org Services conducted by Rabbi Craig Lewis. FRIDAY: Tot Shabbat with Ms. Jennifer, 6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel; Shabbat Evening Service - Friday Night Live! featuring the Star City Kochavin, 7:45 p.m. with oneg following hosted by Lori and Mark Schwartz (visiting class from Waverly United Methodist Church). SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. on Parashat Terumah. SUNDAY: LJCS Gan through Grade 7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Hallah High, 10 a.m.-noon at South Street Temple; Purim Spiel Rehearsal, 1-3 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. WEDNESDAY: Hebrew classes (grades 3-7), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel; Volunteer Orientation, 7 p.m. for Temple members/friends interested in volunteering at Clinic with a Heart, meet at the clinic, 1701 S. 17th Street. Any questions please contact Barb Straus. ADULT EDUCATION TUESDAY, 7:15 p.m. Modern Innovations on Old Issues, Part 2 of 3, led by Rabbi Lewis and Nancy Coren. THURSDAYS, Beginning Hebrew, 6 p.m. and Intermediate Hebrew, 7 p.m. The cost is $50 to cover course materials. For more information call the Temple office at 402.435.8004 or email stemple@neb.rr.com. Note: Please contact Rabbi Lewis if the cost for a class creates a financial hardship. Joint Purim Celebration on March 7 at 6:30 p.m. Be part of the Musical Mellerdrama, The Megillah Goes Country! We Need Players of All Ages. For more information, contact Maria Cadwallader at 402.784.0321 or MariaCadwallader @DirecTV.net.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE SAC Memorial Chapel 301 Lincoln Highway | Offutt AFB, NE 68113 | 402.294.6244 FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m.

Obama, Netanyahu to meet March 5 by JTA NEWS STAFF WASHINGTON (JTA) -- President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet early next month. A meeting was expected, as Netanyahu is set to be in Washington to address the annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on March 5. The White House said the two leaders would meet the same day. The statement came after Tom Donilon, Obama’s national security adviser, concluded a three-day visit to Israel in which he met with Netanyahu as well as Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, the military chief of staff. The meetings, the statement said, “addressed the full range of security issues of mutual concern.” Meetings between top U.S. and Israeli officials have been more frequent in recent months as tensions between Israel and Iran have intensified.

323 South 132 Street | Omaha, NE 68154 FRIDAY: Shabbat Comes to the Blumkin Home, 2:30 p.m. led by Chabad. SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m. led by Andy Greenberg. Services will be held in the Chapel. Members of the community are invited to attend.

TEMPLE ISRAEL Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 7023 Cass Street | Omaha, NE 68132-2651 | 402.556.6536 www.templeisrael-ne.org FRIDAY: OTYG Lock In, 5 p.m. OTYG will attend services at 6 p.m. and spend the night at Temple Israel, departing the next morning. RSVP is required. In addition you must return the signed contract and $25 prior to the event. If we do not have your health form on file please complete the form found on the NFTYMV website [http://www.nfty. org/mv/] and return it with the contract. To RSVP or if you have any questions or concerns please contact Amy Katz at 402.321.0515 or amykatz9120@hotmail.com; Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. led by Rabbi Azriel and Cantor Shermet. SATURDAY: Experience Shabbat for grades 3-6, 9 a.m.noon; Torah Study, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. Cecelia Vann, daughter of Wendy and John Vann, will celebrate her Bat Mitzvah. SUNDAY: Grades PreK-2, 10 a.m.-noon; MRJ/Social Justice Speaker: State Senator Heath Mello, 10 a.m.; Purim Rehearsal, noon; Religious School Steering Committee Meeting, 12:15 p.m.; OTYG Basket Assembly, 1 p.m. at Amy’s house. WEDNESDAY: Grades 3-6, 4-6 p.m.; School Dinner, 6 p.m.; Family School, 6 p.m.; Grades 7-8, 6-8 p.m.; The Same or Different? The Ethics of Edith Stein and Emmanuel Levinas, 6:30 p.m. with Curtis Hutt, UNO professor of Religious Studies. THURSDAY: Jewish Responsa, 10-11:30 a.m. with Rabbi Azriel. He will use ancient Jewish text to provide answers to questions about modern Jewish living; Poker Night, 6 p.m. Registration and Dinner start at 6 p.m. Table assignments at 6:30 p.m., First hand at 7 p.m. This event features NO LIMIT Hold ‘Em till the winner prevails. All players welcome. Food and drinks will be available during the event. Please RSVP to Lachisha Sherrod at 402.556.6536 or lsher rod@templeisarelomaha.com. All proceeds will be donated to Temple Israel. Must be 18 or older to play. $60 Entry Fee and 2 rebuys will be available for $25 each. 1st prize = $1,000 gift card* The top 6 Players will win prizes! *First prize is based on a minimum of 75 players. The Rabbi Sidney H. & Jane Brooks Institute on Judaism presentation on Jewish, Christian and Islamic: How Sacred Text and Liturgy Impact Inter-Faith Relations, Friday, March 2. (see full story on page 6.) OTYG’s A Night at the Museum Annual Spaghetti Dinner with Live and Silent Auction, Sunday, March 4, 5 p.m. (see full story on page 8.)

TIFERETH ISRAEL Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Boulevard | Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 | 402.423.8569 www.tiferethisraellincoln.org Services conducted by lay leader Nancy Coren. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. FRIDAY: Tot Shabbat with Ms. Jennifer, 6 p.m.; Shabbat Services, 6:30 p.m. SATURDAY: Morning service, 10 a.m. with an interactive learning session followed by Kiddush lunch. SUNDAY: LJCS Gan through Grade 7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Hallah High, 10 a.m.-noon at South Street Temple; Purim Spiel Rehearsal, 1-3 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. WEDNESDAY: Hebrew classes (grades 3-7), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. ADULT EDUCATION TUESDAY, 7:15 p.m. Modern Innovations on Old Issues, Part 2 of 3, led by Rabbi Lewis and Nancy Coren. Joint Purim Celebration on March 7 at 6:30 p.m. Be part of the Musical Mellerdrama, The Megillah Goes Country! We Need Players of All Ages. For more information, contact Maria Cadwallader at 402.784.0321 or MariaCadwallader @DirecTV.net.

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February 24, 2012 | The Jewish Press | 15

“Raising” Funds

In memoriam ORVILLE DAVID FRIED

Sparks from the word RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Parsha T’rumah Not long after the decisive appearance at Mount Sinai and the divine gift of the so-called Ten Commandments, the Israelites found themselves in a wilderness. This is not a desert, sandfilled, but rather a wilderness with no roads, no paths, towns, cities, or villages. Precisely here in this wilderness the Israelites were commanded to offer silver and gold, copper and brass, acacia wood and other fine timbers. We are told they brought all these gifts in such numbers that Moses had to tell them: “Enough! Bring no more!” In answer to our astonishment we are told all of these precious things were brought with the Israelites as they escaped from Egypt. It was considered a kind of “token payment” for 400 years of unpaid slave labor. We do not have to be told that all of this was to be used to erect and decorate a sanctuary which could house the tablets of the Testimony and travel with the Israelites. It is interesting to see the word used for making contributions; it is “T’rumah,” which carries with it the implication of “lifting up.” Note that, even today, when we need funds for some good purpose or another, we use the word “to raise” money.

Israeli strike on Iran would be ‘destabilizing’ Joint Chiefs head Dempsey says by JTA NEWS STAFF (JTA) -- Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities would be “destabilizing.” “It’s not prudent at this point to decide to attack Iran,” Dempsey said in an interview on CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS” aired Sunday morning. “I think it would be premature to exclusively decide that the time for a military option was upon us,” he said. The United States and the international community have been urging Israel to hold off on a pre-emptive strike on Iran's nuclear facilities in order to prevent the production of a nuclear weapon, asking Israel to give tough sanctions an opportunity to work. “I think that the economic sanctions and the international cooperation that we have been able to gather around sanctions is beginning to have an effect,” Dempsey said. “I think our diplomacy is having an effect. “A strike at this time would be destabilizing and wouldn’t achieve their long-term objectives. I wouldn’t suggest, sitting here today, that we’ve persuaded them that our view is the correct view and that they are acting in an ill-advised fashion.” Also Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met for two hours with visiting U.S. National Security Advisor Tom Donilon to discuss Iran. Donilon also is scheduled to meet with other Israeli officials on his visit, which ends Monday. Donilon, who was named to the post in October 2010, is visiting Israel for the first time.

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Orville David Fried passed away on Feb. 14 at Hospice House in Omaha. Services were held on Feb. 16 at Fisher Farm. A Celebration of Life service will be held on May 27, 2012. For details please contact: son: mike@ctcincmd.com. Memorials may be made to VNA Hospice, 12565 W. Center Road, Suite 100, Omaha, NE, 68144.

Journalist Jeffrey Zaslow dies in car crash at 53 by ALAN D. ABBEY Journalist Jeffrey Zaslow, Wall Street Journal reporter, columnist, and author, died Feb. 10 at 53 in a car accident. Zaslow became a best-selling author in the last few years with books such as The Girls from Ames, about 10 women who have been friends for decades, and The Last Lecture, which he co-wrote with Randy Pausch. Zaslow’s article and a video of the lecture created an international sensation, which led to a best-selling book. His journalistic home, the Wall Street Journal, said Zaslow had “a rare gift for writing about love, loss, and other life passages with humor and empathy.” The New York Times said Zaslow “was drawn to stories about people seeking meaning in their lives, often in the face of mortality.” Zaslow won the position of advice columnist for The Chicago Sun-Times in 1987 after Ann Landers left the paper. Zaslow told the New York Times that when people told him he was underqualified for the position, he said to them: ‘I’m 28, but I have the wisdom of a 29-year-old.’ His column, All That Zazz, ran for more than 20 years and grew to include an annual singles party for charity that resulted in 78 marriages. Zaslow also did a stint in 2009 as the author of Bintel Brief, the long-running advice column in the Forward, in which he wrote columns titled, Help! My Adult Daughter’s a Schnorrer, Should We Invite My Alzheimer’s-Stricken Mother to Our Son’s Upcoming Bar Mitzvah?, and A JDate Love Triangle. Zaslow once wrote about his father’s experience as a Jewish American soldier at the liberation of Dachau Concentration Camp in 1945. In 2011, he collaborated with Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, on their memoir, Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope, following the congresswoman’s shooting. He is also the author of Highest Duty, about airline captain Chesley Sullenberger, who landed a jetliner in the Hudson River in New York. Zaslow’s wife is Sherry Margolis, an anchor for Detroit’s WJBK Fox 2. They have three daughters.

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16 | The Jewish Press | February 24, 2012

In Israel, economic concerns mount, but unclear which party will benefit by MATI WAGNER JERUSALEM (JTA) – “It’s the economy, stupid” was how American political strategist James Carville once summed up the defining issue in U.S. presidential elections. But in Israel, besieged by enemy nations and locked into an ongoing conflict with the Palestinians, security has traditionally trumped all other political agendas. Until now. In part because of a sharp decrease in West Bank terrorism and the relative quiet in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, Israelis have begun to turn their attention from security concerns to economic ones. Some believe this may help Labor and Meretz, parties that have failed to garner wide support for their dovish positions on security matters but may have more appeal when it comes to socioeconomic issues. “This is the first time since I began writing 23 years ago that there is a chance this election will not be about hawks and doves but about social justice and how the fiscal budget should be split up,” said Daniel BenSimon, a former journalist and parliamentarian from the Labor Party. His party head, Shelly Yachimovich, has been articulating a social democratic economic policy that aspires to promote more social justice and equality. Demonstrations last summer that protested exorbitant housing prices, high costs for basic necessities and growing income inequality managed to mobilize an unprecedented number of Israelis. Called the J14 Movement (after the July 14 date it began), the protest drew more than 400,000 Israelis into the streets. It was largely due to an increased sensitivity to social justice that the Histradrut labor federation, Israel’s largest workers’ union with strong ties to the Labor Party, succeeded in launching a strike last week to champi-

on the rights of outsourced, temporary or contracted workers. For years the workers have suffered from low wages, a lack of job security and no pension benefits. Unlike past strikes, there was wide public support

Palestinian-Israeli conflict were unpopular, pushed a social-democratic platform. But then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert launched Operation Cast Lead in an effort to stop the firing of rockets and mortar

Hundreds of Israelis protesting against the country’s soaring cost of living in front of the Credit: Yossi Zamir/Flash 90/JTA Knesset in Jerusalem, Aug. 2, 2011. for the Histadrut’s battle for contracted workers. “We enjoyed a lot of backing -- on Facebook, on the streets, in the news media,” Histadrut spokeswoman Dafna Cohen said of the five-day work stoppage, which ended Sunday with contract workers receiving a minimum monthly wage and other benefits. Still, a military conflagration -- such as an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities -would be an instant game-changer. A precedent exists in the run-up to the 2009 national elections when Meretz, aware that its dovish positions on security and the

shells from Hamas-controlled Gaza. The 22day military operation pushed security issues to the forefront and rendered Meretz’s socioeconomic platform irrelevant. Meretz ended up with just three Knesset seats, down from five. Even if socioeconomic issues become a central issue in the upcoming elections, it is not clear that parties such as Labor or Meretz will be its beneficiaries. Also, despite all the criticism, the Israeli economy under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government appears remarkably healthy. Unemployment is below 6 per-

cent, compared to slightly above 8 percent in the United States and 10 percent in the European Union. Israel’s GDP grew 4.8 percent in 2011 and the Bank of Israel is predicting another 2.8 percent gain in 2012. And the Netanyahu government has been responsive to public concern about the economy. Even before the protests, Netanyahu instituted reforms aimed at bringing down the cost of housing. The National Housing Committee Law, which was passed by the Knesset in August, will streamline the process of allocating and zoning land for housing and provide financial aid to families buying or renting homes. Netanyahu also established a committee to consider ways of combating the concentration of wealth. The Trajtenberg Committee was established and has presented a number of suggestions to help the middle class, including free preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds. The response has been so extensive that some are now concerned that a populist push on social issues might lead to the adoption of imprudent economic policies. “There is a danger that the very positive awakening of the Israeli consumer and worker to the fact that they are being so exploited by a few oligarchs will be taken advantage of by the social lobby and other leftist groups to institute high taxes on the middle class -- the most productive classes of society,” said Daniel Doron, director of the Israel Center for Social and Economic Progress. But Labor’s Ben-Simon is optimistic: “After moving too far in the direction of neoliberal capitalism, which has ignored the needs of the poor, we will hopefully adopt social democracy -- not the socialism of the 1950s and 1960s, but a form of economic thinking that sustains a more just society.”